


The Blood of Christ

by HeahmundAndIvar (bvckybcrnes)



Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Religion, Religious Content, Religious Discussion, Religious Inaccuracies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-03-04 01:10:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13353336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bvckybcrnes/pseuds/HeahmundAndIvar
Summary: Ivar has a burning question about Christianity...





	The Blood of Christ

All was silent, except for the sound of wood connecting with wood each time a piece would be moved on the game board. Both men sat in silence, a table between them and the game of Hnefatafl mostly occupying their minds. They were in thought, contemplating their next move in this game of strategy. Neither of them wanted to lose. They were too fixated on winning, on proving themself to be better and smarter than the other. Heahmund did not want to lose against a pagan he considered the age of a big child, and Ivar did not want to dishonour his blood by losing against a Christian. 

The young prince sat plucking at his bottom lip, watching the game pieces. He had several moves he could make, some being at a bigger risk than others. Ivar could not see a way out that would not lead to him losing a player in this round. He only had to decide which piece he wanted to lose, thus he moved one of the few he had left standing in a poor strategic position and sat back in his chair. He reached for his cup. It was empty, but he did not care. Ivar only wanted to feel something underneath the top of his fingers while he waited for his opponent to make a move. Blue eyes wandered from the game to Bishop Heahmund, and back down to the game. 

“They say, you drink the blood of Christ.” Ivar’s statement had startled Heahmund a little. He assumed it was an attempt to distract him from the game. The Bishop sat back in his seat and rose his chin a little when he cast his gaze upon the heathen. “Is it true?” Ivar asked when Heahmund remained silent. Tilting his head to the side swiftly, Ivar indicated that more words were to follow. “Surely, if your people drink blood, then you must be heathens just like us, hm?” The Bishop’s gaze went down and underneath the table - where Ivar could not see it - he folded his hands in his lap and tried to channel the deep, frustrated breath he felt rising in his chest. Do not show your anger in front of this pagan.

“It is not blood that we drink,” Heahmund tried to explain. He had a difficult time remaining calm, but as had happened before, he knew he could get through this conversation without losing his temper. More than once before, the differences between Christianity and the pagan rituals of these Northmen had been addressed by Bishop Heahmund himself, as well as Ivar. Often, it had been their topic of conversation whenever the upcoming battle or the history of their kin could not meet their satisfaction. “It is wine.” 

“Wine?” Ivar frowned. He was surprised. “So you lie to your people and give them wine instead of blood?” 

“It is no lie we tell our people, for they are aware that it is wine they are given.”

“Then why do you speak of drinking the blood of your god?”

“It is a symbolic act,” Heahmund exhaled through a sigh. Truly, Ivar’s curiosity was of the kind that could rather anger the Bishop, but he could hardly keep the answers from the man. He had told Ivar before, that he would bring the Viking leader salvation and eternal grace - that he would divert his mind and his heart away from his pagan ways. Heahmund fell silent, seeking the correct words in order to explain this difference to Ivar. “Your people have rituals that bring you closer to your gods. So do we.” Eyes met, and Heahmund halted in his words when he saw Ivar think, and inhale a sharp breath. “How does drinking wine bring you closer to your god? Does he only show himself to you when you are drunk?” The Bishop could not help but laugh briefly, as Ivar’s question contained no mockery, only curiosity. 

“When we gather at mass within our church, the people come to me - to their priest, to receive Communion. It is the bread and the wine that our Lord had on his final supper, shortly before he was crucified.” When he finished speaking, the Bishop looked up to see Ivar was still watching him with interest, yet there was still something puzzled in his eyes. Heahmund smiled softly at the pagan. Whether or not he had understood, or actually believed these words to be true, he had told Ivar enough to silence him for another while. In the end, converting Ivar may never happen, thus why immediately provide him with the truth while Ivar himself could be lying just as much? Surely, it was not a noble thing to do, and Heahmund could feel this sin press down upon his shoulders - but who is to say these men can place their full trust in each other? They may act like it, but many had acted before only to feel different in the end...

The confusion remained unspoken, however. Ivar felt like he had asked enough questions, and chose to just blame the fact that he still had questions that had remained unanswered on the Bishop’s poor choice of words. Instead, Ivar nodded towards the game between them and crossed his arms over his chest while he waited for the Bishop to make his next move. Once more, the room had returned to silence until the game would proceed with another move.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on [Tumblr](https://heahmundandivar.tumblr.com/) for more!


End file.
